my acupuncture nightmare!

Holy moly! Where do I begin? Because acupuncture emphasizes wellness and a holistic philosophy that is missing in so much Western medicine, I’m always tempted to talk about how great it is. But then I have an experience like the one I had when I was pregnant and it reminds me why I have very mixed feelings about it overall.

First, let me start by saying that, in general I don’t think acupuncture can do any harm and, for some people, I do believe it can be very helpful. But the question I have been asking myself is, does it do anything for me that I don’t already get through my diet?

Over the past several years, I’ve tried out a bunch of different acupuncture doctors. There was a time when I was kinda loving it, although I was always frustrated with how expensive it can be (especially when they wanted me to come back multiple times a week and wanted me to buy herbs on top of that). I mean, it feels good when I’m actually lying there with the needles, but do I really notice a big change when I walk out the door, the way I do when I make a change to my diet? Not really. For me, it’s sorta like a great, soothing, expensive nap.

Still, when two different people raved to me about this acupuncture doctor a while ago, I decided to give her a try. I’d heard that acupuncture can be helpful with some of the nausea and other symptoms during pregnancy, so when I was pregnant, I thought it would be good to have someone I could call on whenever I thought it might help. I’ve been to a bunch of different acupuncture doctors over the years, some more helpful and effective than others, but nothing could have prepared me for what I was in for with this one!

Right off the bat, she walks in the room talking a mile a minute with this crazy, spastic unbalanced energy -not calm or relaxing at all. Then I tell her I’m veggie, which, looking back, maybe I should have kept to myself, considering what came next. She then checks my pulse and starts going on about how I’m super-anemic and my liver is soooo weak.

Really? I told her, That’s weird, because I just had my blood tested for prenatal and it all checked out perfectly. A blood analyst actually took pictures of my cells as an example of what beautiful healthy blood cells look like. No other acupuncturist has ever said anything about anemia and — oh, by the way — I feel great. So what on earth are you talking about?

It went downhill from there. She goes into this whole thing about how I need to eat eggs and steak. So, this hyper, spastic woman is telling me that meat and eggs are good, when everything about her is telling me that this not someone I want to be like. But then I started thinking, What if I wasn’t as educated about health? What if I wasn’t so conscious of my own body? What would I do with what she’s telling me?

As if she was reading my mind, she continued: I get tons of vegetarians in here all the time. I tell them to eat meat and they feel much better. Great. So now all I’m thinking about is how this woman is undoing all the good that I and so many others are trying to do. This is turning into the most un-relaxing acupuncture ever!

It went on like that, more of the same, and then at the end of the session she wanted me to buy three different herbal pills. She was adamant and would not stop pushing them on me. I guess people just nod and do whatever she says, because when I started asking questions, like why they had chemicals like Red #100 or Yellow #67 in them, she became even more insistent and manic, repeating over and over that I needed these for my blood. It was truly amazing to me. I felt like I should be offering HER acupuncture! On top of being spastic, she did not look one bit healthy.

So, this is what frustrates me- I want to say “Hey, go to acupuncture if it helps” But it can vary so much from doctor to doctor, so just be aware. The meat-pushers are bad news. I have met some perfectly lovely acupuncture doctors, but my personal experience was that the improvements for my well-being were pretty minor. I am still convinced that trusting your food is the most noticeable and reliable source of health and feeling good, far more dramatic and lasting than what I’ve received from acupuncture.

I wonder if there are other vegan or plant-based advocates reading who also practice Chinese medicine? Speak up if you’re out there! I’d love to hear your perspectives!

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